Merchandising displays are commonly used in supermarkets as well as in other types of stores to display and merchandise items such as beverages which are generally handled as self-service items. In the past, merchandising displays have commonly been square or rectangular in shape when viewed in top plan view. Various ways to circulate refrigerated air in these units have included the use of air ducts disposed, for example, either centrally within the cabinet structure or at the rear wall of the cabinet structure. Examples incorporating this design are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,019 to Rutishauser and U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,432 to Carmer. The efficiency of cabinets having square or rectangular shapes as mentioned above is severely reduced by the practice of having large doors at the front of the cabinet to provide access to a relatively large quantity of product within the cabinet. Otherwise expressed, if there are ten columns of product displayed in a prior art refrigerated cabinet, then the access door of the cabinet has been 10 columns wide. This means that if the product is refrigerated, a large quantity of refrigerated air necessarily escapes from the cabinet every time the door is opened. Alternatively, if a small door is utilized, then only a relatively small number of columns of product may be stored within the cabinet so as to be accessible through that small door.
When an air duct is secured to the rear wall of a square or rectangular shaped cabinet, the air duct causes an inefficient use of space within the cabinet. In this regard, the air duct takes up space within the cabinet itself and also creates unusable gaps or wasted space between the shelves and the rear wall of the cabinet on either side of the air duct. Thus, with such a rear air duct in place, a square or rectangular shaped cabinet must be made larger or deeper than it otherwise would have to without the rear air duct. On the other hand, if a vertically extending air duct or air circulation path is not provided within the cabinet, then insufficient circulation of air within the cabinet may result.
Another problem associated with past front opening refrigerated displays involves the location of the refrigeration unit and its accessability for routine maintenance and other repair purposes. In this regard, although certain past displays have included means for removing the entire refrigeration for replacement purposes, prior refrigerated displays have generally incorporated refrigeration units which are difficult to access for maintenance and repair purposes.